A LITTLE SONG OF LIFE

Glad that I live am I;

That the sky is blue;

Glad for the country lanes,

And the fall of dew.

After the sun the rain;

After the rain the sun;

This is the way of life,

Till the work be done.

All that we need to do,

Be we low or high,

Is to see that we grow

Nearer the sky.

Lizette Woodworth Reese

So, I'm curious? How many of you read your kids poetry? Not Dr. Suess or Shell Silverstein, but poetry written through the ages?

I'm not very good at it, but we have many poetry books that I try and pull out and read over a fire, or out on the lawn. Addie memorized and performed Robert Louis Stevenson's THE SWING for her class talent show this spring. So wonderful to say out loud!

Even without pictures, my kids really love poetry! In this overly visually stimulating world, I'm amazed at how my kids will sit and listen to poetry....words that paint pictures. And when we take the time to memorize, it's even better. I don't know about you, but I miss poetry in the world. I miss reading it, hearing it...it almost seems like a lost artform that might just be considered a bit old fashioned, and not part of what we read to our kids all the time. Not flashy enough, maybe? Too much work to catch the meaning in the first try?

I'm going to be increasing my exposure to poetry and hopefully to my kids as well. When I was a child, I wanted to be a poet. And it's because I was exposed to a lot of poetry. It made me want to write and write and write.

This poem came from a favorite book of mine called SILVER PENNIES. Do you know it? It's a vintage collection of poetry for children that my mother had on her shelf, and I would read through it on rainy days. Do you have any favorite poems you read to your kids?

I'd love to know!

Happy Summer Days:)